This is an international list of osteopathic schools, universities, colleges, and medical schools that award a recognized osteopathic qualification or an osteopathic medical degree. The degrees of non-medical osteopathy conferred vary widely, and include: Certificates, Diplomas (such as Diploma in Osteopathic Manual Practice - DOMP), Bachelors (such as bachelor of science in osteopathy), Masters (such as master of art in Osteopathic history), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), or Diploma in Osteopathy. These non-medical osteopathic degrees are different from an osteopathic medical degree (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) that are solely offered by 37 medical schools in the United States. All 37 US osteopathic medical schools are listed as medical schools in the World Directory of Medical Schools, since they confer the D.O., a medical degree in Western medicine and surgery. Currently, only graduates of American osteopathic medical colleges are considered physicians who may practice the full scope of medicine and surgery.[1]
There are 37 osteopathic medical schools in the United States,[59] which train "osteopathic physicians". Osteopathic physicians are fully qualified medical doctors holding the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree, and they are licensed to perform surgery and prescribe medications in addition to osteopathic manual treatment. Osteopaths from any schools outside of the country are not permitted to practice in the U.S. as osteopathic physicians. The foreign-trained osteopaths, however, are permitted to practice as osteopathic manual practitioners. These manual osteopaths are permitted only to use manual techniques and may not perform surgery nor prescribe medications.[citation needed]